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Tuesday, 30 December 2014

I picked up two packs of Vendel Miniatures TW1 Timber Wolves around ten plus years ago and got round to painting one of them last year I think. Now I will be needing them for a roleplaying campaign so finally I get round to painting the last seven.

Here is four I finished in white, I started with black primer and then dark brown followed by ever lightening shades of grey before finishing with off white.

These are fairly large figures so should be threatening to the player characters and just to be sure I painted the teeth nice and sharp.

I also went yellow for the eyes for that cold hearted look. Whilst the general painting was more or less series of dry brushing the eyes and nose actually took a bit of concentration, a welcome diversion.

I also added three brown ones to the pack which required less coats of lighter browns and I was happy to stop before I made a mess of them.

Here is all eight of them on the hunt the original one nearest the camera. I have kept the bases just to the actual base supplied and not extended it but painted and flocked it. These should add 35 points if they score 5 each. Back to 15mm Romans for the next entry.

From Curt:Definitely great additions to any northern setting. Now you either need a girl in a red hood or a bunch of Stark kids with them. Sorry Ian, 5 points is a bit optimistic - I'm scoring these at 4 points each as they are unbased. (I know, I'm such a hard@ss...)

Another post another new project ;-) Since joining Loki in Kev's Cabin I have been looking for something to paint up so as to be able to contribute. They as a group play Chain of Command in 20mm and don't have the Russians so I bought a couple of boxes of Revell Soviet Infantry The box contains 48 figures but four are useless and I have used six for a later submission so I have 38 infantry and a four piece MMG that went together perfectly.

With a fair amount of snow on everything I can not supply outdoor shots today so I am sorry for the quality of the pictures.

I am also sorry about the quality of the figures as well. I thought I had got all the mould lines but once the primer was on it became obvious I missed loads Also some of the detail was very soft. I can see these troops being replaced in the future but will do OK for now and will hopefully get action at the Cabin and against Lee as well.

Love the MMG crew pulling the gun into position but could do with a crew firing it. I also have one standing LMG and one firing prone. I plan to add several more options including both the 50mm Mtr and 82mm Mtr ATR's and ATG's etc.

Three leaders and a poor shot of the female medic. The man pointing has a map and his helmet pushed back making him an interesting model.

I also got four snipers which are good looking figures with a three piece base that again went together well.

Last up the rifle armed element, not enough of these, especially as two of them are actually SMG armed so I will need more of these to get the numbers right. Actually I need to find out what I actually need and go from there. I won't need the whole of the second box but can see me painting up a chunk of them and binning the rest. You have have noticed I went with green rather than the typical yellow colour. I read that in reality they wore green and the yellow would be limited in number.

I had three T34's for Christmas from my Secret Santa so you can expect these in the next week or so. If I have this right I should have a base of 152 points but one is lying down which would count for half but the MMG may balance that?

From Curt:Great work Ian! I too love the pose of that MMG team hauling their Maxim forward - a brilliant little vignette. I also like the officer with the map, a wonderfully natural pose. I look forward to seeing your T34 platoon making its appearance in the coming weeks. What make are they?

Russian tanks and tank riders in 20mm - models from PSC, figures from PSC and Elhiem

Christmas vacation was lovely this year, and I was fortunate to be able to bring some painting along for the trip. Here are the results - a whole pile of 20mm WW2 Russians to assist in the liberation of the Rodina. There is a platoon of T-34/76s, a platoon of SMG-toting tank riders to accompany them, a squad of assault engineers and a squad of scouts.

The 1/72 scale tank kits from PSC are marvellous

Tank commander visible in the hatch to mark the platoon commander

A T-34/76 ready for action on the table

The T-34s are 1/72 scale models from the Plastic Soldier Company. These are excellent model kits, with a three-tank platoon per box. They are easy to assemble and have very nice details. Of course, those who know me will laugh (rightly) at my continuous inability to properly assemble tracks - it's not easy to see in the photos but I really managed to screw up one of these tanks, but thankfully from arm's length it looks OK.

SMG-toting Lieutenant on a hexagonal base

Of course, a fumbler like me prefers one-piece track assemblies, but the fact is these are tremendous models that any normal person (i.e. any of you, anyone reading this, not me) could put these lovely PSC kits together with no trouble at all.

A squad of tank riders - one NCO (on square base), LMG team and four troops

The SMG platoon consist of figures from two manufacturers - the 1/72 scale infantry figures from their Russians WW2 plastic line (just have to say again what a great value that box is!) and a group of metal figures from Elhiem Figures.Elhiem is a 20mm figure maker I have heard a lot about, and I wanted to try some of their figures for myself so I ordered some packs to round out the platoon.

The Elhiem and PSC figures mix very well together

The platoon is organised along the lines given in the Chain of Command rules - a lieutenant (on a hex base) and three squads each with an NCO, a two-man LMG team and four regulars, all armed with the ubiquitous PPSH sub machine guns, for a total of 21 troops. These troops would have accompanied the T-34s to battle, hitching a ride on the hulls as they advanced into battle.

I like the PSC pose of the fellow ready to toss the grenade

Two spare SMG-armed troops - Elhiem sculpts

I know it would have been cooler to model some of these guys on to the tanks themselves - after all, that is an iconic image of the Soviet army from WW2. But in a game skirmish game, the amount of time these troops would spend actually on the tanks is very limited - the outside of a tank is a horrible, dangerous place to be when the shells start to come in and the Soviet tank riders would be hopping off in no time once battle was underway. So I opted for the dismounted platoon.

Russian assault engineers from Elhiem

I was very pleased to note that Elhiem offers many Russian LMG gunners who are not prone - what a pleasure! As a result the LMG teams don't need large, wasteful bases and they fit in much more nicely with the other action-packed poses in the squads.

Another view of the engineers

Up next is a group of Russian combat engineers. These are also Elhiem sculpts. These troops carry SMGs, but there is an LMG (not prone either!) and a fellow with a flamethrower too. They are modelled wearing camouflaged body suit and body armour. They are doing various engineer things (one is digging up a mine) and carrying engineer stuff (one has rope, another is kneeling and ready to set off a detonator).

Flamethrower trooper

Another view - gave him a different-shaped base so he would stand out

Fellow on the left is digging up a mine, while the one on the right is ready to blast something out of the way

Finally is a group of Russian scout troops. Again, they are Elhiem sculpts. They are carrying a mix of SMGs and what I think are semi-automatic rifles, SVTs perhaps? I'm not familiar with Russian semi-automatic rifles from WW2 - I don't know if many were used or how common they were in the front lines.

Russian WW2 scouts from Elhiem

Some lively colours in the camouflage body suits

The scouts are also wearing camouflage body suits, similar to the engineers, but most of the painting references I found online for these troops had the camouflage suits in very different colours from the engineers. Where the engineers had olive green suits with brown patches, the scouts seemed to wear either brown or a strange green, one that seems more appropriate for infiltrating a peppermint candy factory or a 70s prom than the German lines of the eastern front. I thought I would give it a try anyway - it certainly looks different!

I love this NCO figure for the scouts - a great sculpt from Elhiem

Interesting assortment of weapons on this group

I liked the proportion of the Elhiem sculpts, but the quality was not the best. Not the worst, but not the best - some of the hands, for example, or some of the faces, were not that great, not that crisp. But they are still nice, and I look forward to painting more of them.

So in total there are 38 different 20mm-sized infantry troops and three 20mm sized tanks in this submission - however, only one of the tanks counts for the challenge (one had been completed prior to the start of the challenge, and a second had base paint colours applied prior to the challenge). I am hoping Curt might toss in a couple of extra points for the Soviet tank commander in the hatch too.

From Curt:Excellent work as usual Greg. The T34s look wonderfully grimy and campaign hardened while the paintwork on the infantry is crisp and their groundwork excellent. I like those Elheim poses even though, as you say, their detail can be a bit soft.

This post sees Greg meeting his initial points target of 300. Dude, seriously, why you chose such a low target for yourself is beyond me as the lowest total you've ever accumulated in any of the previous Challenges is 888 points. In the future I'll have to institute a low-ball penalty for those who meet their targets in the first half of the Challenge. Anyway, consider your next target and I'll update the roster.

Ah, holiday week! No internet, insurance company phone tag, and the usual holiday frivolities! Here are the pictures of the delayed ratman and some holiday fun I had with the kids. The fun all started with a full dinning room, three dogs, one terrified cat, and a led squeaky ball....

I did have an "Oliphant" full of nasty evil folk for the fortnight challenge, but he and the mighty Harad warriors were taken out! A fuzzy stampede lead by said led light and consisting in order of one cat in-the- wrong-place, three excited lab mixes, and four concerned kids. No holiday decorations, French doors, or heirlooms were damaged. No lasting harm to any living being ( the cat may have lost a life, but he has at least 8 more). The mighty oliphant and a couple troops did not survive the charge. They can be repaired, but I'm not keen on it for now.

To settle the kids, we painted models yesterday. Each of us had 4 Defiance Games marines from my prep box. The kids feel better about it and some of their work may be observed behind the four I painted.

Mine are the Red Caps, an intergalactic mercenary group made up of former soldiers looking for decent pay. The troops are responsible for their own gear and uniforms. Hence the mishmash of gear and camo. They are for a freebie skirmish written by Howard Whitehouse. Quick play and wounded/dead troops are not removed. Care- under- fire is part of the rules.

There was controversy about Defiance Games. But as you can see the models are pretty decent. Plus I was in contact with them and received TWO boxes plus extras for FREE while I was deployed and I never asked once for samples or anything beyond what I paid for. I am sorry to see them gone now.

I like the "combat diapers" the models sport. "Combat diapers" are uncomfortable, hot, jock-itch creating gear that you don't need till you do! Seeing them reminds me that you the same idiots will be designing uniforms for troops in the future, and those troops will find the same discomfort I have...and the same gripping on comfort will continue anon! ;)

In the 1812 War, more British troops died on the march to Washington than in the skirmishing. It was because of the wool uniform jackets, backpacks, and humid summer air! You KNOW they were griping a bit!

The Skaven mage is a conversion of several fantasy bits. I needed a sorcerer for my skaven warband and did not like what GW had available. All the parts came from GW kits, and in the end , I had my very own cycloptic mage!

Since mages are albinos in the Skaven world, he was undercoated white. Since he eats warpstone for magic, I painted his eye green. He keeps his stash of warpstone in his staff within the lantern.

I have him posed as if he is preparing a blast of magic. I used a lot of inks and washes on him with a light drybrushing of tan followed by more washes and some highlights. I prefer black undercoats, but white makes washes work really well. The Defiance Games marines (mercs) have a NMM attempted on the weapons, but I don't think it worked out too well. I think I did better with it on Red Platoon, but it is still new to me. I'll try again on later entries.

From Curt:David, it sounds like you've had your hands full this holiday season! My deepest condolences regarding the stricken Oliphant and its posse. I hope we see the repaired beast soon. I like your Red Caps though I find the whole idea of 'combat diapers' deeply troubling. I had no idea... (Though I guess they make perfect sense.) Your Skaven mage is completey ace. I love the lantern, his green eyes and his albino fur - excellent stuff.

Finally, your hobby space has that whiff of chaotic reality about it that I find strangely calming. Thanks for sending that along. :)

Happy new year all, this is my latest submission and is something of a departure. Firstly there is the obligatory ACW unit, the 68th Pennsylvania. I have been experimenting with ink washes, normally I paint in the shading using the Foundry 3 colour system and sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. When I was buying my micropen I purchased some Windsor and Newton inks and have been washing the trousers (pants is probably more accurate) with thinned down cobalt blue. It works pretty well, although the photography doesn't really pick it up - still experimenting with photography having never photographed a figure before the challenge in my life and only having a smart phone. New skills are always good.

Most of the decoration on the stands is lichen that I found in the garden and I think it looks great. I also managed to do some varnishing for the first time in months as I do it outside and the weather has been dodgy - windy and drizzle. Again the photography makes them look much shinier than they really are.

Next up is something more unusual. Whilst digging in the back of the cupboard for the goblin chariot - see bonus submission - I found these. These ten 28mm dwarfs appear to be the 10th Dwarf Legion. I bought them in the 1980's and I don't know from who. I really like them and would like to try and find some more so if any one has any suggestions that would be a great help. I can't imagine they are still being made though.

The basing rubble is vermiculite which is used in packing chemicals as it is very absorbant. I stained it with black ink wash as it is gold coloured and it looks really good. However it is so absorbant that it hoovers up glue and doesn't stick well. The triarii are standard red but I painted the Hastai in Vallejo Oxford Blue.

And finally a random 28mm Hasslefree miniature that I recently purchased of Alice from the Resident Evil movies. The figure is great with no flashing nor annoying mould marks - I will definitely be going back. Despite the quality of the figure I couldn't get the painting quite right and so instead of submitting her to the Hot bonus round (which to be honest I felt quite embarrassed about - I'm not 14 anymore) I've submitted her here. Think I'll use her as a wild card in VBCW - she will certainly shake up 1930's Northumberland

P.S. I unexpectedly completed the 105th Pennsylvania and therefore I think this makes it a points bomb of 237. I love that work is closed until the New Year.

Will have to find a new pose, these are getting repetitive. Off to build and paint my Christmas present for next week.

From Curt:Wow, this year's weekly submission protocol has really generated the points bombs. Great work Martin! Your ACW project is clipping along at an amazing rate. I like the ink effect on the trousers (NOT pants). As a suggestion, if you wanted to make the shading even more distinct you could highlight the raised folds in the original colour. Then again it would probably reduce the pace of your work (which is blistering). Your Alice is wonderful (I'm 12 at heart so no embarrassment here) - is that a severed head at her feet?

And with this submission Martin moves into amongst the top three in the points ratings. Bravo Mr. Cooke!

I was in hurry this week!For a busy week , it has been a busy one !too much painting programmed for too few days to do it before the Tuesday parution.but with patience and practice I nearly finished, althought a part of it will appear only next tuesday due to a lack of basing and flocking in time.so here is the reinforcement as promised:Firstly three more chinese workers from Wargames Foundry in 28mm

Then a unit of Polish knights with their mixed strzelcy for my Medieval Polish project at Grunwald

The banners of the district of Poznan and the Nadworna (court) banner, the figures are from Essex miniatures and there's 2 mounted crossbowmen from the good old Mike Models inserted,of course in 15mm.

and the second Germano-Bohemian unit of spearmen for my Medieval Hungarian project (how many projects the french jester does in the same time? You will never know ;-) )Like the other Germano-Bohemian unit of spearmen they are from Essex Miniatures.The choice of the shield designs was a pain because I would like to do different colours from the first I done, just to differenciate the units when I'll play.